On Saturday morning February 25th, 2012, in partnership with the Mission Trails Rangers, twelve SDMBA (San Diego Mountain Biking Association) members and volunteers participated in trail restoration at Big Rock Trail on Cowles Mt. The vegetation at Big Rock Trail has not been trimmed back for several years and was beginning to overtake the trail. SDMBA worked on approximately .6 of a mile of Big Rock Trail for four hours.

In coordination with the rangers, the trail was cleared roughly six feet wide and up at an angle away from the centerline where feasible to restore the trail corridor, thus improving function and visibility. In similar fashion to last month’s trail work at Mesa Trail, initial brushing was accomplished by SDMBA volunteers with power tools followed by volunteers with loppers for spot trimming and rakes to pick up cuttings. Cuttings were placed at openings of social trails and in erodible areas free of native vegetation. The new power tools have greatly improved SDMBA trail crew efficiency and were recently purchased with funds from a generous grant provided by the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation.

Many hikers and mountain bikers were again appreciative of the trail restoration. The next planned trail work at Cowles will be on April 21st with a large group of volunteers from The Mission Continues in which experienced Trail Bosses will be needed. To find out how to participate in this and other SDMBA events, go to the SDMBA website http://www.sdmba.com